Corn harvest advanced 11 percentage points over the past week to 29% complete, which was right in line with expectations and seven percentage points ahead of the five-year average for this point in the season. The report showed 88% of the crop was mature as of Sunday, which compares to 77% on average to kick off October.
USDA once again rated 59% of the crop “good” or “excellent,” which is three percentage points shy of last year at this point.
| This week | Last week | Year-ago |
Very poor | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Poor | 10 | 10 | 9 |
Fair | 26 | 26 | 25 |
Good | 45 | 45 | 48 |
Excellent | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Soybean harvest even more aggressive than anticipated
USDA reports 86% of the U.S. soybean crop was dropping leaves as of Oct. 3, and 34% of it had been harvested, which is six and eight points ahead of the respective five-year average for this point in the season. The 18-point week-to-week advance in harvest was two points quicker than analysts surveyed by Reuters anticipated on average.
USDA continues to rate 58% of the bean crop “good” to “excellent” (GE), though that did mask a one-point increase in the “excellent” category.
| This week | Last week | Year-ago |
Very poor | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Poor | 10 | 10 | 7 |
Fair | 28 | 28 | 26 |
Good | 46 | 47 | 50 |
Excellent | 12 | 11 | 14 |
Rain slows cotton harvest and weighs on crop ratings
Seventy percent of the cotton crop has bolls open and is thus vulnerable to late-season quality damage, including 64% of the Texas crop. Harvest advanced just two percentage points to 13% the week ended Oct. 3, with rainy weather keeping progress minimal. Last year at this time, 19% of the crop had been harvested.
Soggy weather resulted in a three-point slide in the amount of top-rated cotton to 62%. But that’s still well ahead of 40% G/E last year at this time.
| This week | Last week | Year-ago |
Very poor | 1 | 1 | 10 |
Poor | 5 | 5 | 17 |
Fair | 32 | 29 | 33 |
Good | 53 | 55 | 32 |
Excellent | 9 | 10 | 8 |
Winter wheat seeding nears half complete
U.S. winter wheat planting advanced 13 percentage points over the past week to 47% complete, according to USDA. That was two points shy of expectations but still a point more advanced than the five-year average. In top-producing Kansas, 42% of the crop has been seeded vs. the usual 41%. Today’s update shows 19% of the crop had emerged as of Sunday, which lags the five-year average by a point.